Observations on the Flatback Turtle, Chelonia depressa Garman

Bustard, H Robert; Limpus, Colin

Chelonia depressa was described by Garman in 1880. This species occurs (at least partly) within the range of Chelonia mydas, and Fry ( 1913) has described the external characteristics which distinguish them. However, depressa is almost unknown in life and is scarce in museum collections. It is noteworthy that Wermuth and Mertens ( 1961) omit depressa from the species of the Chelonioidea. They list it under the synonymy of C. mydas japonica. The status of Chelonia depressa was recently reviewed by vVilliams, Grandison and Carr ( 1967). They stated with reference to the genus Chelonia, "One local population, however, is morphologically so distinct that it may be tentatively regarded as a species ... This sharply distinguished taxon is Chelonia depressa Garman ... " Furthermore, they write, "The dearth of information on the distribution of breeding grounds of Chelonia in Australia makes it difficult to judge whether, and to what degree, depressa and mydas, may nest sympatrically. There is an important nesting colony of mydas-like turtles on Capricorn Reef ... especially on Heron Island .... " Here we indicate that depressa is distinct from Great Barrier Reef mydas and describe a rookery used by depressa and the artificial incubation of depressa eggs.

Observations on the Flatback Turtle, Chelonia depressa Garman

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